Rescue Me – The Complete Fourth Season (Sony DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: A- Episodes: B
Rescue Me has managed to once again save
this reviewer from bad television. Denis
Leary returns in his hit series with Rescue
Me: Season 4 on DVD. Rescue Me: Season 4 has yet to be
released on Blu-ray (like Season 3
was), but all the same great content is present here on DVD. Denis Leary has always had a dark side to
himself with his comedic, chain smoking, alcoholic, Irishman persona always
shining through in whatever work he did.
Rescue Me took Denis Leary to
the next level and truly emphasized what he was capable as an actor, comedian,
and just all around star.
As a
brief plot synopsis for those who are new to the series, Denis Leary plays the
headliner of the series, Tommy Gavin.
Gavin is a New York City Fireman living in as post-9/11 world and seems
to be only one cigarette, drink, woman, or fire away from the verge of
collapse. Gavin uses pills and booze to
shield himself from the pain of his daily life and presumably from the ghosts
of his past. In Season One the audience was given the impression that Gavin’s woes
mainly stem from the events of September 11th, but as the series has
progressed it seems that Gavin in fact may just be an emotionally repressed,
addiction crazed, Irishman with a really bad attitude. Where Tommy Gavin fights fires in reality, he
is meanwhile burning bridges everywhere in his private life. Gavin’s masochistic lifestyle is what makes
the series so interesting, because you think there is only so far a womanizing,
alcoholic can go before he breaks, but there is always another layer to peel
away. Eventually there may only be burnt
flesh left. The characters are what make
this dark comedic series so powerful and whereas Tommy Gavin is at his breaking
point, the people that surround him neither help his sanity nor have much of
their own.
Season 4 picks up where the Season 3 cliffhanger left off with
Tommy being blamed for his beach house burning down and could be way over his
head with insurance fraud. As confusion
mounts at the beginning of Season 4,
Garrity fights Maggie (Tatum O’Neal) about her porn collection, Lou is still
sleeping with the sex crazed nun, the Chief deals with his heart issues and
goes back to work, Franco takes a big step with Natalie, and Uncle Teddy tries
to find what to do with his new freedom.
The
stylized nature of the series lends greatly to its appeal. The show is filmed by different directors and
incorporates many different filming techniques to give the series a look that
no other series does. The use of
‘ghosts’ is also brought back as Tommy tries to forget his past and stumbles
into the future. The series is like
nothing you have seen on television before.
The characters are developed more than ever this season and not a single
fan will be disappointed.
The
episodes of Season 4 (based on order
of airdate) include:
1)
Babyface
2)
Tuesday
3)
Commitment
4)
Pussified
5)
Black
6)
Balance
7)
Seven Solo
8)
Animal
9)
High Cycle
10) Keefe
11) Yaz
Once you
fire up the technicals and special features on this 4-Disc set you will be
pleasantly surprised as they are at least on the same level as the standard DVD
Rescue Me: Season 3 release, if not
better. The picture is presented in a
solid 1.78 X 1 Anamorphic Widescreen that is stated to ‘remastered in high
definition.’ The episodes were shot by
several different directors and maintain that brilliant stylized feel they have
had throughout all previous seasons; but definitely better than ever. The episodes were shot in 24p digital HD with
Sony HDW-900 cameras which gives them good clarity and color, but there remains
to be grain issues (intentional?) and the occasional light/dark error. The picture was solid, but would have looked much
better on Blu-ray again. The sound is
presented in quality Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes throughout each episode ‘pops’ and
‘bangs’ at all the right points; with the series being heavily reliant on
dialogue, the action sequences still manage to bolster and boom the sound
stages good strength. The extras are
admirable.
The
extras include 6 exclusive featurettes on the series, 22 deleted scenes, a Gag
Reel, a special entitled ‘Firehouse (Real
Stories from America’s Bravest)’, and an odd choice to include 2
‘minisodes’ of other Sony series Married
With Children and Starsky and Hutch. The 6 featurettes are well made and
interesting as they include a behind the scenes featurette entitled ‘Walking Thru Fire: The Stories of Season 4’
that gives insight into the series from the cast and crew, ‘Burning Embers:
Gavin’s Girls’ that took a look a the many women of the series, ‘Captains’
about the leaders of the station, ‘This
is not a Drill: Breaking Down ‘Seven’’ that went into greater depth on the
pivotal seventh episode of Season 4,
‘Tools of the Trade’ discussed the
equipment used on the series, and a final short feature called ‘Welcome to the Set.’ Some of the featurettes are long and
others short, but all are very well made and interesting. The best featurette is definitely the true
stories from real firemen in ‘Firehouse
(Real Stories from America’s Bravest),’ which truly highlights Dennis
Leary’s plight to fund some of the bravest people who walk this earth.
The
series is hard to jump into without having previously viewed the other three
seasons. This reviewer HIGHLY recommends
the series, but would recommend first watching and buying the first three
seasons. The series is one of this
reviewer’s favorites and only sees it getting better in the future.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
